“May you live in interesting times” is an old Chinese curse and it seems to be ours. This is definitely an interesting time.
The Larsen C Ice Shelf has almost completely calved, or split from the main part of the ice formation in Antarctica, and is ready to drift into the sea, melting fresh water ice with the salt of the sea, increasing the sea level and acidity of the ocean.
In 1967, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, and it awakened the consciousness of our nation. Richard Nixon, who was definitely a crook, understood what was really important, politics and money aside. In 1970, he signed legislation called the Clean Water and Air Act and formed the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA; Earth Day was born on April 22 that same year.
That was so long ago and far away. Lost in the storm of another war, our home planet was given priority over the madness of men.
Today, Trump’s henchmen are busy dismantling every agency. At the EPA, Scott Pruitt has fired all the scientists, stopped all research, and is eliminating regulations as quickly as he can. Before the EPA, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, among several others, caught on fire and burned for days on end because of the industrial waste dumped into them. I see us heading back to those bad old days.
This time though, there are other factors involved. We have passed the “tipping point” of carbon in the atmosphere. Wild fires rage throughout the continent and the annual fire season is extended because of area drought. Storms have become super storms and 100-year floods occur frequently. We are losing coastal land worldwide to the rising seas; for example, Northwest Arkansas is the new home to 12,000 Marshall Islands’ climate refugees.
Donald Trump chose Scott Pruitt to head the EPA because they only care about their own power and wealth. Trump has made our country a pariah around the world by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. But we have children and grandchildren and our family and friends have children and grandchildren. Let’s raise our voices and tell our representatives and senators in both Little Rock and Washington DC “Do Not Destroy Our Planet. Rejoin the Paris Accord.”
Politics and money aside, remember; nature bats last and there are no jobs on a dead planet.